DISCUSSION SESSIONS

DISCUSSION SESSIONS OVERVIEW: NEW FORMAT FOR 2017

This year we are experimenting with a new discussion format that weaves together a collection of vignette presentations and papers. Each session will kick the hornet’s nest of important and dangerous topics facing the research world. The discussion will be sparked by input from some of the leading market research professionals in Australia and carefully moderated to provide delegates with an immersive and interactive 70 mins of learning, discussion and debate.

If actionable insight is the goal, are there new ways to play the game?

What do you make of augmented reality in qualitative research? What about automatic content recognition in advertising research? Machine learning for sentiment analysis? Massive passive data linkage from the internet of things?

We live in complicated times, where berries give you Hepatitis and batteries spontaneously combust.

Human beings are resilient creatures, with some pretty creative coping mechanisms that swing into action when we face threat. But is living with danger making us lose ourselves?

Are we becoming less trusting as a society? Has the line between healthy scepticism and defeatist cynicism shifted?

In an increasingly partisan 24 hour news cycle, have we now accepted ‘fake news’ and ‘alternative facts’ as the new normal?

What do we make of the authenticity movement? Is it just more spin, or a corner turned?

Is political correctness denying us the social license to be honest with ourselves and others (social desirability bias 2.0?), or is the anonymity of social media finally allowing us to call it as we see it?

And what impact does all of this have on a profession whose value proposition is rooted in premise of research you can trust?